Rite of Confirmation: Presentation of the Candidates

For our next (and final) Confirmation Intensive, we are going to spend the evening doing some liturgical catechesis: focusing on the Rite of Confirmation which includes the following:

the Presentation of the Candidates

the Bishop’s Homily

the Renewal of Baptismal Promises

the Laying on of Hands and the Anointing with Chrism

the General Intercessions

Over the next week or so, I’ll share with you what I’m developing for each of these 5 elements of the Rite (the kids will exerience five, 15-minute mini-sessions, one on each of the 5 elements). We begin today with the Presentation of the Candidates.

The Presentation of the Candidates

Explain the following: the Rite of Confirmation begins immediately after the Gospel.

The pastor will present the candidates to the bishop by inviting you as a group <your parish may call each candidate by name> to stand as a sign of your intention to live as a confirmed Catholic. Standing before the bishop is a sign ofyour commitment: it’s like “signing on the dotted line.”

Tell the young people that when the pastor calls them to stand up to be presented to the bishop, they can think of it as being called forward to sign a declaration – not of independence – but of DEpendence. To be confirmed is to declare that we rely on – are dependent on – the grace of Jesus Christ!

Call the young people forward by name one at a time and invite them to sign their names to a “Declaration of DEpendence” that you have prepared ahead of time <see below> as you play a CD recording of “By Name I Have Called You” or “Here I Am Lord” or another appropriate song.

When all are done, remind them to recall this “Declaration of DEpendence” when the pastor calls them to stand before the bishop during the Presentation of the Candidates at the Confirmation Mass.

* For the “Declaration of DEpendence,” I plan to create a “parchment” document, about 24 x 36 that will have the title “Declaration of DEpendence” written boldly across the top followed by phrasing such as “We, the Confirmation Class of <insert year> of <insert parish> do hereby declare our dependence on the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with our heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen!” Lots of space for signing names will be left below this text. I found a cool site that has easy directions for how to create a “parchment.”

Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.